Panasonic CEO To Speak at NJIT May 16 Commencement

Panasonic Corporation of North America Chairman and CEO Joseph M. Taylor and inventor, sculptor and entrepreneur Daniel A. Henderson, the CEO of Intellect Wireless, Inc., will receive honorary degrees at the May 16, 2011 NJIT commencement. The event is set for 9 a.m. at Newark's Prudential Center. The university will confer close to 2000 doctoral, master's and bachelor's degrees on members of the Class of 2011.

Taylor will deliver the commencement address.

Taylor, who was recently named CEO, is a 26-year Panasonic veteran who has served as Panasonic Corporation of North America’s chief operating officer since 2007. He has led multiple strategic business efforts, including creating a B2B enterprise solutions group and launching and coordinating companywide Full HD 3D TV product and promotion initiatives. Prior to becoming chief operating officer, Taylor was president of Panasonic Industrial Company, a division that supplies industrial components and electronic devices to the nation’s largest manufacturers and assemblers.

In addition to his role in Panasonic’s U.S. operations, Taylor also serves as an executive officer of parent company Panasonic Corporation. Through this position, he is involved in formulating and executing Panasonic’s global business strategy.

Taylor has served on numerous boards and technical education initiatives including programs with New Jersey Institute of Technology, the Liberty Science Center, and Rutgers University. He has been a member of the Board of the National Association of Manufacturers, chairman of the Board for the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Company, and serves on the boards of several Panasonic companies.

Henderson has been granted 26 U.S. patents covering telecommunication systems and devices. His prototype wireless picture phone was received by the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in October 2007; he has been recognized in Bloomberg Business Week and the Wall Street Journal.

Henderson began his career with IBM and was invited to work with Kazuo Hashimoto, known as the inventor of Caller ID and the modern answering machine. For more than a decade, Henderson has presented the Hashimoto Prize to outstanding doctoral graduates of NJIT at commencement ceremonies.

Henderson serves on the Board of Visitors of the NJIT Albert Dorman Honors College and frequently participates in colloquia for Honors College students. The Albert Dorman Honors College Computer Lab was dedicated to him in 2008. Henderson also created the NJIT-Electrical and Computer Engineering Phonetel scholarship. In 2009, his sculpture, “The Brick,” was donated to NJIT and is permanently installed in the main entry of Fenster Hall.

Today, with its four-pronged mission of education, research, service and economic development, NJIT plays a critical role in shaping New Jersey's future. As a major public technological university, NJIT is an important conduit through which technology flows into society. University researchers seek new knowledge to improve processes and products for industry. Through public and private partnerships and economic development efforts, the university helps to grow new business ventures that fuel the economy. NJIT's research program is among the fastest-growing in the nation and ranks among the top ten technological universities in the nation for research expenditures.

One of the nation's leading public technological universities, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a top-tier research university that prepares students to become leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. NJIT's multidisciplinary curriculum and computing-intensive approach to education provide technological proficiency, business acumen and leadership skills. With an enrollment of more than 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students, NJIT offers small-campus intimacy with the resources of a major public research university. NJIT is a global leader in such fields as solar research, nanotechnology, resilient design, tissue engineering, and cyber-security, in addition to others. NJIT ranks 5th among U.S. polytechnic universities in research expenditures, topping $110 million, and is among the top 1 percent of public colleges and universities in return on educational investment, according to PayScale.com.